“I was thinking about my second uncle.”
Shi Huai drew on the reins, slowing his horse.
“Every stop on the route map he gave me is marked out in painstaking detail. It even says which inns to stay at and whom to visit.”
“If that map fell into the wrong hands…”
Shen Jinghong’s brows drew together. “You mean there’s something wrong with someone close to your second uncle?”
“I don’t know, but it’s worth looking into.”
Shi Huai took the route map from his sleeve and unfolded it, scanning the markings.
“From the capital to Qingyang Town, how many places we passed through, how many inns we stayed at, and how many people we met—if someone had the intention, they could follow this route and investigate every detail.”
The Third Prince caught up from behind and reached out for the map. After taking one look, his brows furrowed even more deeply.
“This map is too detailed. It doesn’t look like a plan for someone’s scholarly journey. It looks more like a record of someone’s movements, prepared for anyone to consult at any time.”
Shi Huai nodded. “So either my second uncle trusts the people around him too much, or…”
“He deliberately let someone see it.” Shen Jinghong finished for him.
The Third Prince’s expression changed. He turned to look at Shi Huai. “You suspect your second uncle deliberately let someone know where you would be?”
Shi Huai did not answer. He folded the route map and tucked it back into his sleeve, then gently pressed his legs against the horse’s belly. The horse quickened its pace and moved ahead.
The group traveled along the main road for about an hour before a fork appeared ahead.
The road to the left led to Linshui County, while the road to the right led to another town.
Shi Huai reined in his horse at the fork and stopped to look at the two roads. After a moment of silence, he turned to Li Yi.
“Take the left.”
Li Yi froze. He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice. “Young Master, the road on the left leads to Linshui County. They’re investigating the kidnappers there right now. It’s a chaotic place.”
“That’s exactly why we’re going.” Shi Huai’s tone left no room for argument.
Li Yi said nothing more. He waved his hand, and the group turned onto the road to the left.
Linshui County was about a day’s journey from Qingyang Town.
Toward evening, the group stopped at a place called Liuhe Market.
It was called a market town, but in truth, it was merely a few dozen households built along the river.
A dirt road ran through the entire village from east to west, with a few scattered shops lining either side.
The general store, the food stall, the cloth shop—they were all deserted and quiet.
As Shi Huai rode down the dirt road, he drew plenty of attention.
Some people stood at their doorways with bowls in hand. Others poked their heads out of windows. A few even squatted by the roadside, forgetting to draw on their tobacco pipes.
An old man selling candied hawthorn skewers was pushing his cart toward them. When he saw Shi Huai, he stumbled, and the cart tilted to one side. The skewers of candied fruit tumbled all over the ground with a clatter.
He crouched down to gather them, scrambling in confusion—just as he picked up one skewer, another rolled away.
Qinghe poked her head out of the carriage. When she saw the candied skewers rolling across the ground, she couldn’t help laughing. She quickly covered her mouth, though.
Before long, at Shi Huai’s signal, she went over and bought all the candied hawthorn skewers.
The group stopped in front of the only inn in Liuhe Market.
Calling it an inn was generous. It was really just a single courtyard, with several rooms surrounding a small central yard.
The innkeeper was a woman in her forties, with a round face and a warm, smiling expression. She looked friendly enough.
She poked her head out from behind the counter. When she saw the group of people and horses outside, she froze for a moment. Her gaze lingered on Shi Huai’s face before she quickly plastered on a broad smile.
“How many guests? Staying the night, or just stopping for a meal?”
“Eleven. We’re staying the night.” Shi Huai leaped down from his horse and handed the reins to the approaching assistant.
The woman’s expression changed. She hurried out from behind the counter and began leading the assistants to prepare the rooms.
As she walked, she muttered, “Eleven people? Good heavens, this little inn only has eight rooms. There’s no way we can fit that many guests.”
Li Yi came up behind them, glanced at the woman, and took a silver ingot from his sleeve. He placed it on the counter.
“We can make do. Squeeze together where necessary. The rest is for you.”
The woman’s eyes lit up at once.
She weighed the silver in her hand, and her smile grew even wider. “Of course we can fit you all. We can squeeze together—there’ll definitely be enough room.”
She turned toward the back courtyard and shouted, “Dear, come out and help! We have distinguished guests!”
A man in his forties hurried out from the back courtyard. He wore a gray cloth tunic and an apron, and his hands were still dusted with flour.
When he saw the scene outside, he froze for a moment. Then the woman pulled him aside and whispered something in his ear. His expression shifted from bewilderment to delight.
He quickly wiped his hands and hurried over to Shi Huai, bowing and scraping.
“This way, honored guest. Please, come in.”
Shi Huai followed the innkeeper into the courtyard.
The courtyard was small. A pomegranate tree grew in the center, with several unripe fruits hanging from its branches. In the corner stood a stone vat containing a few goldfish, with several duckweed leaves floating on the surface.
The rooms were in the back courtyard: five in a row, with three rooms on either side, for a total of eight.
The room Shi Huai was given was the largest, located in the middle. The innkeeper had vacated her own room for him, saying it was the cleanest. The bedding had also just been changed.
Qinghe put away the luggage and took Tangerine out of the chest.
Tangerine had been shut inside all day and was in a foul mood. It sat on the bed with its back turned to everyone.
Shi Huai walked over and flicked it lightly on the head. “You’re the one who’s unhappy?”
Tangerine narrowed its eyes from the flick and covered its head with its paws.
Li Yi led his men in checking the courtyard inside and out. Only after confirming that there was no one suspicious did he take up position outside Shi Huai’s room.
As night deepened, Liuhe Market sank into silence.
Shi Huai sat by the window, writing by the light of the moon. He was recording the day’s experiences.
The tip of his brush moved softly across the paper, recording, one character at a time, everything he had seen, heard, thought, and felt along the journey from Qingyang Town to Liuhe Market.
When he wrote the words “the fork in the road,” the tip of his brush paused. Ink spread across the paper, blooming into a small dark flower.
A faint sound of footsteps came from outside the window. Shi Huai set down his brush and raised his head.
In the moonlight stood a familiar figure, dressed in a gray-blue Daoist robe with a dark sash tied around his waist. His hair was bound with a bamboo hairpin.
The moonlight fell across his face, making it appear even thinner than usual and emphasizing the sharp outline of his cheekbones.
Shi Huai pushed open the window and looked at the person outside.
“Second Uncle? What are you doing here?”
Shi Yuanping climbed in through the window, moving as lightly as a breeze.
He sat down opposite Shi Huai, his gaze falling on the white cloth wrapped around Shi Huai’s wrist. His voice was slightly hoarse.
“I heard you were attacked.”
“You came from the capital, Second Uncle? The estate isn’t close enough for you to have gotten here so quickly.”
Shi Yuanping did not answer. Instead, he took a piece of paper from his sleeve and placed it on the table.
The handwriting on the paper was so hurried and untidy that it was almost impossible to read, but several lines stood out clearly to Shi Huai:
“Young Master was attacked in Qingyang Town and kidnapped by unidentified assailants. He has been rescued and is unharmed.”
